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Episode 202: Turn and Burn
Turn and Burn is the second episode of the second season and the fourteenth episode overall. Notes * Clients: Sophia * Bad Guys: Carla Baxter, Raul, Campos Synopsis At Sam's request, Michael helps a waitress named Sophia who is being stalked by a cartel soldier. Spy Facts *In the world of intelligence, if an operative hands you a crossword puzzle, chances are, you just received a coded message. It's the art of steganography: sending coded messages that don't look like messages, unless you have the key. *In covert ops, you always want to be the one setting the meeting. When you're following someone else's instructions, they set the agenda, they control the security, and they get to make you jump through hoops to remind you they are in charge. *Check fraud is more about technique than high-tech equipment. Get some old checks, a roll of scotch tape, some nail-polish remover, and you're in business. Nail-polish remover is mostly acetone, which dissolves ink. Get your hands on a check that's been filled out by the account holder, dissolve everything but the signature, and you've got yourself a blank check. Counterfeiters call it "check washing". *There may be no honor among thieves, but there's a certain amount of respect. Establishing you're in the same racket, is a great way to make an introduction. *If you wanna make a friend, solve a problem for them. No problem to solve? Create one. *Relationships are about trust. People trust you when they have something on you. Like, say, the name and address of a mistress in Orlando, or information about a secret gambling habit. It's all about making them feel secure. *People don't trust information they get for free. If you wanna sell someone on a lie, you have to make them drag it out of you. It's effective, but often painful. *Inexperienced operatives abandon a cover ID under pressure; experienced ones just play their roles harder. *Most people think distracting a group of guys is best done by a beautiful woman. The problem with beautiful women is people want them to stick around; which can cause a lot of problems. Obnoxious guys, they just want to get rid of. *Most assassinations involve the firing of a single well-placed bullet. The trick to selling an assassination attempt is to use a lot more fire power... and an explosion or two doesn't hurt. *Drug cartels have their own internal justice system. It doesn't involve courts or lawyers or proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If they think you might be a traitor, they'll kill you just to be on the safe side. *In intelligence, a good adversary lets you think you're winning. They know the best attack is the one you don't see coming. So you learn to be vigilant when you think you've got the upper hand. Because that's when they'll strike. *If you walk in on a corpse and can't catch your breath, you might be suffering from a panic attack, or someone might be pumping nitrogen gas into the room to displace all the oxygen. It's not a bad way to kill someone. They suffocate before they've realized there's a problem. It won't show up on a tox screen, and there's no trail left behind… unless you know where to look. *There are a lot of disadvantages to being at the scene of a crime, you can get arrested, you can get yourself killed, and no matter how many times you've done it, it's never fun hanging out with a dead body. But the advantage is, there's no one around to object to a little intelligence gathering. Full Recap Michael returned to his loft to begin decoding the crossword puzzle Carla left at the bar at Carlito's. The decoded message read: "Meet at Marina Mall Noon." Michael, Fiona, and Sam arrived at the Marina Mall at noon to find Carla and figure out who she works for. Sam reminded Michael that he had a Pilates class to attend with Veronica. Veronica did not care for how Sam mistreated the Cadillac and has put him in the rhetorical "Dog House." Fiona stayed at the car while Sam took a perching position to get surveillance photos on her. As Michael was walking around the mall, Carla called him out from a table in front of a cafe. She drank a special coffee brew, which Michael noted as coming from Yemen. Michael pressed Carla for information, but she stonewalled him. Carla handed a security badge to Michael. It is made with an integrated circuit processor and an embedded hologram over a laminate patch, making the card near impossible to duplicate. She only told Michael that a Tunisian counterfeiter named Nefzi is capable of forging an exact copy. Carla used Michael because she knew he could meet Nefzi without her help. She also handed over a bag full of money to pay Nefzi in exchange for his services, noting whatever is left over is his. After the meeting, Carla also let Michael know she was onto Sam and Fiona, handing Michael Sam's camera and the keys to his charger. She threatened him to come alone next time. Back at the Loft, Fiona praised Carla's counter-surveillance team. Sam is not so much since Carla broke the camera, which actually belonged to Veronica. Michael believed the badge was the key to learn more about Carla's organization. He also noted that he needed to find Nefzi. Fiona suggested Barry, who was dodging Sam and Michael after their last meeting prior to Sam's rescue. Michael asked Fiona to find Barry in exchange for "all the yogurt she can eat." Fiona agreed, but could not promise she would not kill him. Just after, Sam called Michael to meet at Carlito's. Outside of Carlito's, Sam discussed a friend of Veronica's who was having some guy troubles. Sam took the job because it is too delicate and Veronica gets excited. Michael agreed to hear her friend out. The woman's name is Sophia. She worked as a hostess at a restaurant where her stalker came to continually. The stalker's name is Raul. She's not interested, but Raul persisted. Raul paid the bartenders to learn more information about her. Michael agreed to follow Raul and learn more about him. She said the best place to follow him is at her church, where Raul likes to pick her up at. During the stakeout outside the church, Michael asked Sam about the circumstances that he met Sophia. Sam explained he met her at a cooking class that Veronica set up for him. Michael got suspicious about how she was able to afford an expensive cooking class. Fiona called Michael and asked about her coffee maker for her upcoming poker game. He promised to come later. Moments later, Raul arrived with a Mac-10 machine pistol. Michael figured out that Sam knew Raul packed weaponry and asked him for help. They deduced that surveillance on Raul was required. Michael agreed to help for lunch. Raul took Sophia for a ride. Fiona tracked Barry to a day spa. Barry asked for a refill, but Fiona responded by spilling water over his cucumber facial. He was hard to find, but Barry assured Fiona that it was nothing personal, except for the prospect of him getting caught in the crossfire. Fiona only wanted information about Nefzi. He warned Fiona about his dangerous deals and his arrogance. Barry told Fiona that Nefzi worked out of an old TV repair shop in South Miami. He also noted he was formerly part of the Tunisian Security Forces. Michael tried to fix the coffee maker, but decided to buy a new one for her. Madeline told Michael she wanted to go to counseling with her. He agreed to go with her. Sam called Michael with interesting news about Raul's business. Sam and Michael met up at a shipping yard, where Raul worked as a manager of a coffee delivery business. Veronica called Sam and asked how the job was going. She promised Sam a reward that he would definitely love. Michael had Sam probe into Raul's business further. Sam drove up in the Cadillac to Raul and asked him to help ship his stability workout balls. While agitating Raul and his men, Sam discovered coffee and Lidocaine, which is used to cut cocaine. Sam tried to bribe Raul to rent out some trucks, but Raul kicked him out. Michael confronted Sophia with their findings. Sophia continued to act scared, but he was not sold on her story. She immediately pulled a gun on him, but Michael seized it, forcing Sophia to reveal her true identity to him as a DEA agent. Sophia explained to Michael and Sam that she was working on taking down a major Mexican drug cartel boss named Campos. She worked undercover for two years as a hostess. In the middle of her investigation, she unknowingly attracted Raul's attention and hired Michael and Sam to get him to back off. After blowing her cover to the men, Sophia asked them to help her take down Campos. Sophia took Michael to her restaurant where Raul and Campos meet for lunch. Campos was in a turf war with a rival Mexican cartel. Two weeks ago, a contract was placed on Campos and the war was getting ugly. Michael used this knowledge to out Raul as a traitor so Campos can take care of the problem. After the meeting, Raul called Sophia and demanded answers about where she's been. Sophia explained she was on a bus, but Raul demanded to see her later that night. Back at the loft, Michael practiced his forgery skills on checks left for him by Barry. Fiona came over to help. The next day, Michael established himself as a check forger to Nefzi and presented him with the security pass. He needed it forged and in return, Michael would pay Nefzi in forged checks. Nefzi declined and demanded $10,000: five now, five on delivery. Nefzi warned Michael not to cheat him. He agreed to have the card duplicated in two days, going against Carla's wishes to have it done as soon as possible. Madeline called Michael to remind him that he missed his counseling appointment. He promised to show up to the next appointment. At Sophia's restaurant, Michael met with Raul and Sophia to offer his services as an "expediter." Raul denied moving drugs, but Michael played aggressively to get his attention. He found it funny that Michael did not go to Campos directly, but Michael just wanted to make money and let Raul take the credit. Raul became interested and asked Sophia for a table for two with a bottle of Dom Perignon. He noted to Michael that Sophia is Catholic and "a volcano waiting to erupt." In his delusional state, Raul believed that Sophia loved him more than life itself, which Michael believed is a loaded statement. Michael returned to Madeline's home to apologize. Madeline was happy to see him since she mysteriously received a new coffeemaker. Michael figured this out immediately who got it for her when Madeline pointed out the newspaper with a crossword puzzle, indicating that Carla dropped by. Carla asked Michael if Madeline liked the coffeemaker, which made ten cups a pot. Michael continually probed Carla for information, but Carla reminded him that he's in the hot seat. She warned him next time to meet her expectations or Madeline would pay the consequences. Fiona planted what appeared to be a tracking device on one of Raul's delivery trucks while Michael waited at Sophia's restaurant. Sophia delivered Michael a menu with a napkin written "He's searching your car." Michael smiled and saw that Raul was probing into his "personal life." Before the meeting, Michael planted lottery tickets, racing forms, and a throwaway PDA, giving Raul "leverage" he needed to extract information from him. Michael's play was to deny everything so Raul can force information out of him to make the information more believable. He eventually gave up that the DEA planted a tracking device on the truck that Fiona planted so Raul would buy his story. The next day, Michael and Madeline visit a therapist (who Madeline picked because resembled Madeline by her hair style, her similar age, and her personality). During the session, they discussed their personal problems about why Michael never called her on one her birthdays. Michael responded by explaining a mission he did overseas, which caused him to spend some time in a field hospital, recovering from injuries. He also confessed to have stolen some groceries when he was nine because his father, Frank, had blown away his paycheck. A bag boy named Tommy caught him and gave him a black eye. Despite having escaped with the groceries, Madeline took them without asking questions, expressing what appeared to be a lack of love for him. Madeline got defensive, but Michael pointed out that they never went back to that grocery store. Madeline decided to talk about Disney World. After the meeting, Michael asked Madeline why they visited her. Her response, "there was something about her that I liked. I don't know what I was thinking." Raul called Michael to meet him at the restaurant. At the restaurant, Michael arrived to see Sophia beaten up because of Raul's jealous suspicions. He held a gun to Sophia's face and demanded answers. Michael played Raul by using Sophia as his weakness. While Raul still held Sophia at gunpoint, Michael pulled his gun on Sophia, knowing that Raul would not go through with his threat to kill Sophia. Raul apologized to Sophia and promised her a nice dinner before she left. He demanded Michael to meet with Campos to be satisfied. Back at Michael's loft, the team decided to adapt their plans to out Raul under the new circumstances. Sam distracted the shipping guards while Fiona planted C4 under a car and take a sniper's post from a ship across from Campos' office. In Campos' office, Michael met with Campos and Raul. He commended Michael for pointing out the GPS device in the truck. Michael continued to advise Campos on tightening security measures while Sophia call Raul to go to the restaurant to help her with a drunk customer. Michael tipped Raul's suspicious behavior to Campos, planting the idea that Raul is plotting to betray him. He signaled Fiona to fire into the office and dragged Campos to save him from the gunshots. Fiona detonated the C4, effectively outing Raul as a traitor. Campos sent men to the restaurant to murder Raul. Raul was brought in to a DEA interrogation room, where he confessed to moving a half a kilo of cocaine in every coffee can. Sophia came in to wrap up the interrogation and learned everything about Campos' operation. In exchange, Raul went to a maximum security prison for his protection. Sophia thanked Michael for his help before returning to work. Nefzi finished duplicating the security card. Michael paid him the remaining $5,000 owed for his services. He also offered to pay Nefzi another $5,000 if he found information on where the security card is used. Nefzi agreed and told him to come back next week. As Michael walked outside of the TV repair shop, he spotted a white van and another operative sitting on a bus bench across the street, reading a newspaper. He realized that the operatives killed off Nefzi with nitrogen gas flowing from an air tube rigged to the exterior wall so he could not be questioned later. Michael ran in and grabbed another copy of the security card he can use for later. Michael met with Madeline to go to another counseling session. Madeline told him the counseling session was cancelled and decided to find another. Michael realized that Madeline just wanted to spend time with him and offered to make the effort to. She confirmed to Michael that she knew about the bag boy the whole time and did not want to ask Michael. This made Michael happy. A displeased Michael met Carla with the security cards and the money. Michael rejected her money, stating that he would never work for her. He spoke to Carla in Arabic, asking "No coffee today?" Carla responded in kind saying she's busy, but her people would be in touch. Michael detected that Carla spoke Arabic with a Kurdish accent, hinting at her past professional life in Kurdistan. He updated Sam with this piece of information, which is all they have to track her. Cast Main * Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen * Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe * Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne * Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen Recurring * Paul Tei Barry * Tricia Helfer Carla Baxter Guest * Jacqueline Pinol as Sophia * Kevin Alejandro as Raul * Erick Avari as Nefzi Trivia Continuity Errors